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Letters to the Editor: July 31-August 7

The Community Reacts to Vandalism at Pilot Butte

I appreciated the space and words dedicated to the remembrance of Mr. Castillo. I am guessing that you did not even think you were even going to be arrested, let alone jailed. Considering the one-is-too-many but still very high number of people who have faced jail and then prison for nonviolent drug offenses, we should be so fortunate to set up canna-businesses in prime locations and pick up on weekdays before six.

The drug-related part of this unequivocal tragedy is preceded by over-policing, subconscious racism, militarization, PTSD and well-documented infiltration by white supremacists. With this in mind — whether I'm at Tokyo Starfish or not — I think about how freedom is not black and white, positive and negative, but gray.

The police chief didn't resign after this nightmare. It would take the death of a white woman just over two years later for that to happen. I am optimistic about change here in Oregon. The decriminalization bill is a step in the right direction for the next generation.

Philando Castillo was born in '83. He was in his early thirties. He lived in Minneapolis and paid the price for those gray areas.

Not surprising since the Source had printed a lot of letters lately complaining about Bend growing. I think the growth is great. I would rather live in a community that is growing than dying. Some people cannot handle change. Guess what, if we don't want change let's go back to dial-up, corded phones and give up all of the other conveniences that a modern and growing society had developed!

As far as I am concerned, if you moved here a month ago you have a say just as a person does who was born here.

The argument is not so much where you have migrated from, although no one expected 40,000+ Californians to take us up on the offer to not just visit Bend, but stay. Be that as it may we have more than the dreaded "Californian" who have made Bend their home. The original Bendites are upset with all the negative changes such as the small town feel leaving for a faster paced style of living associated with city people.

I can recall a bumper sticker that was going around during the population boom in the '90s that read, "Slow down, isn't that why you moved here?" Symbolic of the general population at the time trying to tell newbies to embrace Bend for what it is, and don't exploit it for what it is not.

Ironic that some natives/longtime locals complain about newcomers acting entitled and disrespectful because that's exactly how you come off when you act like you're entitled to have Bend all to yourself and tell people to get out!

That just adds to the negativity that you're supposedly mad about. Overpopulation is a problem all over the world and unfortunately, a beautiful place like Bend will not be spared from that issue. Lead by example and keep it positive. Write your elected officials, go to town halls, etc. if there are problems you want fixed.

Vandalizing our town isn't going to put an end to movers and tourism. It's hateful and distasteful. I would bet on the people who wrote this were transplants themselves. Bend is a total transplant town! Most of us are from somewhere other than Bend. People can learn to coexist and embrace it or move to some place out in the boonies.

That happened at the BHS stadium in the 60s. Bend was playing South Salem and somebody took bleach and paint and put SSS on the stands and in the field. They figured it either meant South Salem Stinks or South Salem Saves.

Those who precipitate that sort of opinion don't share a humanitarianism ethic of respect for others as well as respect for property that does not belong to them. It's a shame people's agendas are so clouded with hate.

Trust me, I know about the vacation rentals littering the landscapes, but they are within their legal rights to do it. Do you blame someone for making a living off of something that is inevitable in this town? I would be more concerned about the massive hotels going up and obscuring our views and creating traffic issues.

But then again we make a lot of money off of the hospitality industry. The luxury I am referring to is a clean and safe town with tons to do and a culture that brings in great bands, artists and people alike. I have lived in many places and this is by far the best town that I have lived in. And to say most tourists don't care isn't true. If a million people a year didn't care our town would be destroyed in an instant. It's just a you-versus-them mentality at this point. Everyone thinks that everyone else is a bad guy. It just isn't true. People are people wherever you go.